Community News

St Albans City Youth Community FC have been rewarded for giving more boys and girls the opportunity to take part in active sport and to represent St Albans.

Grassroots football in Hertfordshire received a total of £48,000 in the form of Grow the Game grants from the Football Foundation. The grants will see the creation of 27 new football teams in the county, in addition to the coaches trained to deliver age appropriate coaching. There is £6,000 allocated to City Youth that will be used to grow the numbers of girls and disability players involved in team sport.

Karl Lingham, Hertfordshire FA County Development Manager, said:

“The Grow the Game funding is a real boost for grassroots football in the St Albans District and across the county. The grants will enable clubs in Hertfordshire to provide additional opportunities for everyone to get involved in the beautiful game.”

The Premier League and The FA fund the national Grow the Game scheme with £1.9m, which is delivered by the Football Foundation, the nation’s largest sports charity. The scheme is designed to increase participation in our national game by helping clubs to meet the essential costs of starting new teams.

The key strength of Grow the Game is that its participation increases are sustainable rather than transient. Its grants create a solid infrastructure of teams and newly-trained coaches in which new people can start playing the sport, rather than simply providing temporary activity sessions, which are then vulnerable to drops in participation once the programme ends.

Ben Shephard, Sky Sports’ Goals on Sunday presenter, spoke of his delight at the grants too:

“This Grow the Game funding, provided by the Premier League and The FA, is excellent news for the Hertfordshire. They deserve real credit for working with the Football Foundation and the Hertfordshire County FA to help secure the grant.

“Grow the Game funding makes a tangible difference, it helps to increase participation in the sport. It allows clubs at the lowest levels of the game to pay for things associated with starting new teams, like making sure their volunteer coaches can get qualified with FA coaching badges.”